CafeTran

I'll respond here, because this is the Linux forum ;).

Let me start at the end:

>In the end, I acknowledge choosing GNU/Linux as a translator is not necessarily the easiest route, but it is personally very enjoyable and rewarding.

>

>Bottom line: there is another way, apart from Windows and OS X when it comes for a translator's OS.

I agree. And I've enjoyed reading your excellent posting. And I'm happy that you found an OS that suits your needs. And I'm happy that you joined the CafeTran community with your knowledge.

>Mac hardware usually has an excellent design (there have been bad decisions or build issues especially on certain models) and good specs, but it is overpriced for what you get.

With a Mac you get a machine that just works. I appreciate that you like to configure/build your own machine and install and optimise your own OS. But you should take the many hours that you are spending on that into account too. If you charge € 30,00 per hour or so, the story changes--I guess.

> With the same money, you can have better specs [especially graphics for example] and more hardware customizations (also cheaper), meaning that your hardware will last longer.

I don't need more graphics. On a side note: I was reading Heise C't about Final Cut: this is a graphics-heavy app. C't tested it and wrote that it runs very well on a MacBook Pro.

>-OS X new versions and Apple software require newer hardware, which means that you get quickly stuck with an older OS X version that gets increasingly less supported: no security updates, can't install some software apps etc.

I installed El Capitan on a white MacBook unibody from Mid-2010. It works perfectly.

> Other restrictions:

>

>Version compatibility and software updates/upgrades that break functionality/disrupt usability [oops you had paid for our Aperture software, did the OS X update (not even upgrade), now we don't offer Aperture anymore (didn't care to tell you before), so Aperture won't open, but you can have our new Photos app. it's promising... and you get to use our beta software as we improve it based on your frustration for lost functionality).

I really hate Photos. I liked iPhoto. Please give me back my iPhoto.

>Want to use keyboard for everything? Well, don;t you like our wonderful GUI? Why use a keyboard when you have magic mouse and trackpad?

I use Keyboard Maestro to add my own keyboard shortcuts (to unpack Studio packages, Transit packages, to manipulate the text in the Target segment pane, based on the position of tags, quote characters etc.), so I can do everything with my keyboard that I want to do with it.

>Lack of customization: if you use GNU/Linux, you really understand what lack of customization is,

And:

>Some DE's include: Gnome Shell, KDE, Unity, Cinnamon, Mate, XFCE, LXDE etc. Each has many customizations going on.

True. But I don't need it. And it costs a lot of time. Time in which I can do nicer things, like sitting in the garden etc. I've had it with computer optimising. Life's too short for it.

>Now, when it comes to translators, what I think is: today, being a tech-savvy translator is a big bonus.

True. But it's very easy to forget how much time is involved.

>I think translators ought to be more geared towards power users than the average joe.

I'm afraid that I cannot agree here. I deal with novice CafeTran users nearly every week and noticed that they 'just want to translate' and not to fumble around. To be honest, I'm on that track too, nowadays.

>True. But I don't need it. And it costs a lot of time. Time in which I can do nicer things, like sitting in the garden etc. I've had it with computer optimising. Life's too short for it.

I should add that I'm still spending too much time on my computer, because I have to deal with many other CAT tools. Creating and testing workflows for interoperability does cost a lot of time too.

I'd say that there the potential lies to make more bucks, as a translator.